Philip C. Lutz Jr. (August 28, 1888 - May 22, 1947) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the twenty-seventh Indiana Attorney General from January 1, 1933 to January 1, 1937.

Biography

Early life and education

Lutz was born in Boonville,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Lutz attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in Bloomington, receiving both his BA and his LL.B. from the school. In addition to his legal career, Lutz ran a

peony The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguish ...

farm in Boonville.

Political career

Lutz, a Democrat, served as a clerk of the Indiana General Assembly in the 1911 and 1913 legislative sessions. In 1915, he served as a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

, representing Warrick County. In 1916, Lutz became juvenile judge of Warrick County. In 1932, Lutz was elected to succeed James M. Ogden as Indiana Attorney General. He served his term in the administration of Democratic

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Paul V. McNutt Paul Vories McNutt (July 19, 1891 – March 24, 1955) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 34th governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the ...

. In 1934, Lutz was involved with the

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

of John Dillinger from

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

back to Indiana. Dillinger would be placed in Lake County Jail in Crown Point, but would later escape and die months later in a shootout in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Lutz successfully defended a law that fixed the price of milk before the U.S. Supreme Court following a legal challenge by the Kroger Grocery & Baking Company in 1936. Lutz also issued a number of opinions related to Indiana medical law, setting limits on who can practice

podiatry Podiatry ( ), also know as podiatric medicine and surgery ( ), is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower limb. The healthcare professional is known as a podiatrist. The US ...

in the state of Indiana and deciding that

mental asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

officials could perform sexual sterilizations with a court order. Lutz also issued an unofficial opinion stating that township trustees were still responsible for temporary medical care of those in poverty, even as Governor McNutt was reforming welfare in the state in the era of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. Lutz was succeeded to the office by Omer Stokes Jackson.

Personal life and death

Lutz was involved with the erection and dedication of a historical marker in Boonville, commemorating

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

’s connection to the town. On July 4th, 1935, Lutz gave a

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

address in Rockport at the dedication ceremony of the Lincoln Pioneer Village. Lutz died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Philip 1888 births 1947 deaths People from Boonville, Indiana Indiana attorneys general Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly